PROMOTIONS SUB-COMMITTEE

Dec. 15, 1999

7:30pm, 8^th Floor Meeting Room, 500 University Avenue

Attendees:

Jannette Porter (Chair)

Alex Shevchuk, Guest, Toronto Parks and Recreation Planning

Barb Wentworth, Bicycle Safety Coordinator

Sean Wheldrake, Coordinator, Road & Trail Safety Ambassadors Program

Ole Calderone

Ed Clark

Jerry Corbett

Stephen Fisher

Gillian Flower

Nina Koskenoja

Clay McFayden

Marleen van Laethem

Terry Walsh

Items 1&2:

· Alex Shevchuk: How to approach City Councillors RE: bike routes and trails (keeping in mind that there will likely be new boundaries and ward structures by the next municipal elections)

Q) What should TCC members initially ask them? Have they received any sort of official notification of this?

A) The Victor Ford plan is due soon; TCC should present that to Councillors, and remember that when raising the issue in each ward, approach BOTH councillors equally, then pitch the proposal. The Cycling Master Plan gives the whole issue more visibility and a higher profile. Be careful of the budget issue (ie. Parks and Rec. have already requested $1.6 million for the Finch corridor trail).

Ed Clark notes that the Decima poll results are useful and should be incorporated into the presentation, especially the point that the largest segment of cyclists are recreational.

Nina Koskenoja suggests developing a general presentation that can be given to each councillor with extra descriptions of the parts of the plan specific to their ward.

Alex Shevchuk reminds that the Trans-Canada Trail will come through several wards, meaning that TCC can push that this will benefit those wards, and perhaps those councillors will then even choose to "champion" the issue themselves.

Alex will provide maps for TCC to use in these presentations to the councillors.

Janette Porter requested a listing of the councillors who, based on past comments, may be personally interested in cycling routes and issues (ie. Mike Tzekas, whom Stephen Fisher suggested could even be approached as a champion for the issue). Alex will provide a list of the councillors with whom his department has already had contact.

Barb Wentworth warns that TCC should also be very careful when approaching those councillors who support licensing of cyclists, as they may prefer to push that issue over routes.

Clay notes that in North York the emphasis on the multi-use nature of the paths was an important selling point with Councillors there, and notes that if presented properly, the new pathways can dispel the notion that they attract crime to a neighbourhood.

ACTION: All TCC members should contact Barb Wentworth with either their Ward Number, major intersection or Postal Code so that we can determine which TCC members are representing which wards, and which wards we may have to find an "honorary TCC member" for.

Nina asked if we should attempt to prioritize routes; Ed Clark notes that a councillor in favour of a route would help to jump that route up higher in priority, thanks to it having support.

Jannette reminds that the presentations should show connectivity of the network to get more councillors (and the public) to "buy-in" to the plan. Ed notes that TCC should form a "watch" for what's happening with properties along proposed route additions, in case they get sold-off, etc. Clay notes that many suburban councillors he's dealt with before have been opposed to emphasizing the connectivity of the path networks, as there is a perception that it shows further access points to neighbourhoods for perceived undesirables. Sean notes that this means TCC should press the Cycling Master Plan Consultants to expose many of these "hidden connections".

Alex suggests that TCC members should meet separately about each individual ward and what's projected to happen in them. Ed notes that the easiest way to present the issue is to the show the councillor actual sites in their ward that are in question (ie. On-site visits or photos).

Ed also notes that we can piggy-back many of the route plans with other new transport plans; Alex suggests that TCC should therefore focus some effort on the Councillors who are also members of the Greater Toronto Services Board.

ACTIONS:

· Get map of proposed new routes and trails

· Review the map ward by ward

· Terry will use postal code information to map all TCC members, matching them to wards (Ed suggests reviewing a "TCC Alumni" list as well, to get better ward coverage).

Item 3:

· Promotions and Development Sub-Committee has resolved to go ahead with merging with the Communications Sub-Committee. A recommendation will be forwarded to Cynthia Vaz.

Sub-committee meetings will alternate their primary focus, especially as major deadlines like the Bike Show approach.

The issue was raised of better timing and advertising working group meetings, with the suggestion of a phone-line being set-up to better list all upcoming meeting dates for TCC, Sub-Committees, and especially Working Groups.

New Item:

Marlene notes the deadline for agenda submissions for the next TCC (January 17, 2000) is January 5, 2000. Suggestion made that any proposed new schedule lists and/or agendas (ie. the fore-mentioned phone-line) should also include agenda item due dates.